 |
| Information |
|---|
| Developers: Macmillan Digital Publishing, Heracles Brigade |
| Release Date: September 1998 |
| Latest Version: 1.1 |
Level Cataloger is a software utility, created by Macmillan Digital Publishing, designed to allow users to sort through, install and uninstall the maps included in Battlezone: Battle Grounds and Battles of the Outer Rim.
Details
With hard drive space relatively limited at the time of its development, Level Cataloger was created so that users would only be required to install maps which they wanted to play. The maps could be installed, played, and then uninstalled quickly and easily, though multiplayer maps were often better left installed so games with them could be joined without having to leave the game to install the map.
Level Cataloger was never designed to be installed to the user's hard drive - rather, being a small utility it was capable of running directly from the disc. As such it was not designed to launch the maps on any occasion other than their first installation, when the user would be prompted to play them immediately.
Once the user selected a map, Level Cataloger would display a description, rating and review (in the case of Battle Grounds provided by Macmillan's hired reviewers Toni Chaffin and Jason L'Hirondelle). It would also display the creator's name and e-mail address in order to allow users to send feedback and support requests. A search feature allowed users to sort through the included maps based on gamemode, rating and through text search of other details, and users could if they desired install all the maps produced by a search.[1][2]
Bug! The Battle Grounds map Capture the Relic does not appear in the map list due to a database issue. Version 1.1 resolves this.
Version 1.1
The original version of Level Cataloger relied on several supporting programs that do not run on modern computer systems, rendering the program useless. To resolve the problem a replacement version was developed by the Heracles Brigade. This version was designed specifically for Battlezone and provided several significant improvements over the original version, but also cut several features of the original; the program as a whole was repurposed from an installer to a hybrid Instant Action launcher and multiplayer map installer with support for both Battlezone and The Red Odyssey singleplayer missions, the search functionality was replaced by a more detailed interface with multiple lists of maps, and the ability to install multiple maps at once was replaced by the implementation of a MapAdder feature. The new version was also given the ability to create shortcuts to the provided Instant Action maps and to modify the install locations of both the base game and its expansion. It was released as part of an updated version of Battle Grounds which included updated maps designed to work with version 1.5.[3]
References
- ↑ Battlezone: Battle Grounds, LevelCataloger.exe
- ↑ Battlezone: Battle Grounds Manual
- ↑ Battle Grounds 1.1 on battlezone1.org